Students leave without locking their doors, and their stuff gets stolen

WATERLOO — Once again, university students who went away for the weekend without locking their doors have become victims of break-ins.

It happened this time in buildings on King Street North and on Spruce Street in Waterloo. Police say at least six rooms were broken into over Saturday and Sunday. Thieves stole electronic items including laptops, phones and video game consoles.

Students discovered the thefts when they returned from a weekend away. All the rooms had been left unlocked.

This is not unusual. The Record mapped 8,950 break-in reports to police over five years to find that three out of four top hot spots are near the Waterloo campuses.

Students are targeted because they live closely together, have portable stuff to steal, often leave doors unlocked, and are often away on weekends and holidays.

Last March, a suspect broke into student apartment buildings on Regina Street and on Phillip Street in the early-morning hours while many students were sleeping. All entries were made through unlocked doors.

Waterloo Regional Police are urging students to lock their doors and windows, to be vigilant of their surroundings, and to report any suspicious people, vehicles or activity. Other safety tips to help prevent break-an-denters include:

Keep valuables such as laptops and other expensive electronics out of sight.

Don’t leave boxes of expensive items outside your residence. This will let burglars know you have new items inside.

Use a timer for lights to help your residence appear occupied when you aren’t there.

Keep lists of the make, model and serial numbers of your electronic items or other valuables to help police locate them if they are stolen. Take photographs of jewelry and other valuables.

Don’t let anyone into a secured building that you don’t know.

Anyone with information on the latest thefts is asked to call police at 519-653-7700 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.